Barbara Bernath

* The Mobile Muse

2009-07-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

Since 1995...

I have worked as a creative therapist with an amazingly diverse range of people and circumstances; from refugees to plane crash survivors; from East-side teenagers to West-side entrepreneurs; from three-year-olds to ninety-two-year-olds. No matter who comes, or how far they have wandered or been derailed from their path, my goal is always the same: To help people 'come back to life' with a renewed sense of meaning, trust, passion, and purpose.

What services do I offer?

Basically, I help people to express their feelings in creative ways. I help people to do and say things they have been meaning to do and say all their lives. I help people change. I help people grow. Although I believe strongly in helping clients make peace with their past, I believe equally in helping them make peace with their future. With this said, my services include creative-life-coaching elements to encourage my clients to fully embrace their potential using their innate talents and passions as their guides.

My sessions involve a combination of many techniques including counselling skills, life-coaching techniques, role-playing, dream-work, creative-visualization, and hands-on metaphoric exercises involving writing and drawing. As Dorye Roettger once said, "There are no problems, just opportunities to be more creative."

Why am I called the Mobile Muse?

Although I had a private-practice as an art therapist for many years, I have recently gone mobile. I now take my therapeutic skills and creative coaching services directly out into the world. I now go where ever people want me to go - to their homes, to their schools and institutes, to their work environments, to their conferences, and if need be - directly to their streets. And, while I identified and worked as a 'Registered Therapist' for a long time, I no longer refer to myself as such. I prefer to call myself a 'Muse,' as it lends itself to a more modern, inspiring and creative kind of mentor-ship, hence The Mobile Muse.

How did I learn to do this?
Like anything worth doing, it took passion, vision, risk, education, patience, and practice! I have eight years of post-secondary training - a degree from Emily Carr University; a graduate diploma and thesis completed through the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute; plus an abundance of academic credits accrued in Psychology and Social Science from Simon Fraser University and VCC. Although I truly value having an education, schooling is never enough. The soul needs more than certificates and degrees to understand its terrain. With this said, I have also spent a great deal of time undergoing my own therapy, professional supervision, and life-coaching, as well as many years cultivating my own creative-talents. We can only take others where we have been ourselves...

Additional Information

My service is mobile. Wherever you are, or would like to be, I'll meet you there.

All ages are welcome. Specialized experience working with gifted people and young adults in transition.

Private, individual sessions are generally one hour long and can be done in person or over the phone (email follow-ups and check-ins are also routine).

Private, individual sessions are $80- an hour. Payments can be made after each session or once a month if we are doing long term work together. Other rates and session lengths are offered to groups, couples, or individuals requiring special services (just ask).

If you or someone you know is interested in sampling my sessions, I offer a free introductory phone consultation. During this conversation we will explore your current situation and then come up with a potential plan (sometimes just taking this first step can feel very healing). However, there is absolutely no obligation to continue beyond this free consultation, nor are there any hidden fees involved; I simply love and believe in what I do.

Make Contact
With this said, if you or someone you know is looking for new inspiration and support on a personal, business, or community level, I would love to help. I am available for private sessions, group workshops and conferences locally and internationally.

Please direct your queries to BarbaraBernath@telus.net and I will contact you shortly. I truly look forward to hearing from you.

Examples

Private clients

Many of my individual, private clients call on me initially because of a 'presenting problem,' meaning, a current obstacle or issue in their lives which seems to be hindering them in some way. It can be a relationship issue, a health problem, a family dynamic, a conflict at work, or just a strange feeling that something is not 'right.' Whatever their 'problem' is, they want it to be gone as quickly and painlessly as possible.

However, as we work together what they often find (to their amazement) is their presenting problem is a signpost to a deeper secret, memory, or issue tangled up with blocked creative energy. In other words, a forgotten treasure, hidden skill, or denied pleasure is often buried alongside of the part of ourselves we don't want others to see. Unearthing these memories, feelings, and blocked energy always leads to a renewed sense of opportunity and life-affirmation.

For example, some clients end relationships that have been holding them back, while others take up healthy new ones; some clients start playing musical instruments, begin painting classes, or renew their passion for dancing; others start new businesses and projects they never had the energy to pursue before.

So, while I still emphasize the importance of working-out past issues and feelings, it's exciting to also help clients manifest their dreams, talents and aspirations. Through symbolic visualization, written exercises, and other creative techniques, I help my clients go through and beyond the healing stage into the realm of their higher potential. It is not enough to simply help clients 'resolve' their issues and then send them back to their same old lives; people need to be encouraged to test their wings. People need support to really trust their creativity, their uniqueness and their aspirations. This is what I believe being a modern therapist is really all about-- helping people go beyond the mundane, helping them to be proud of their uniqueness, and encouraging them to express their full potential.

Community Projects

One of the longest running projects (nine consecutive years) that I developed was an on-site Creative-Counselling Program in a school for inner-city teens. By fusing the art room together with my counselling space these kids were given the opportunity to express their hopes and fears in a highly creative way.

As they explored their private issues and emotions--they developed their artistic talents; as they honed their creative style--they worked out family and social issues; as they found comfort and safety in their own uniqueness--their tolerance and compassion for themselves and others blossomed. It was a beautiful example of how creativity and healing can happen simultaneously if given the right space and opportunity to do so.

Corporate Communication Projects

I also enjoy working within organizations and businesses, it's very interesting to get inside the 'psyche' of a group and help find fresh ways to develop team-spirit, clarify in-house issues, and de-stress through creative projects.

For example, through simple pen and paper exercises, I provided a much needed "inner-vacation" for employees at the head office of a bank; at an annual conference for a high profile union, I had participants drawing symbolic pictures of what it felt like to be on the verge of a strike; at a hip Yaletown restaurant, I brought management, floor, and kitchen staff together to share their varying perspectives of their workplace through upbeat, metaphoric drawing, writing and talking.

I have worked with the following organizations:

Vancity Credit Union - The BC Hospital Employees Union - St. Paul’s Hospital VISTA Program (Eating Disorder Program) - The Alliance for Arts & Culture - The Sequoia Restaurant Group (Cardero’s/ Sequoia Grill/ Sandbar/ Season’s) - Sweat Co Studios - Phoenix Program (alternate school for at risk youth) - Cariboo Hill Secondary School - Christina Lake & Green Seed Foundation - Vancouver Children’s Centre -The Vancouver Art Gallery - Subeez Restaurant - Deep Cove Parent Participation Preschool - Granville Park Lodge (residence for elders) - The Vancouver Art Therapy Institute - Ministry of Children and Families - YWCA - BCATA - CATA

Make Contact

Again, if you are looking for new inspiration and support on a personal, business, or community level, I would love to help. Remember, I offer a free phone session. Please direct your queries to BarbaraBernath@telus.net and I will contact you shortly.

I truly look forward to hearing from you!

* Honey B Music

2009-05-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

To listen to a sample of my very own funkalicious 'Honey B' music, click HERE!

The song you just listened to comes from time booked in an old school analogue studio. No tricks or samples or loops or quantizing -- just me playing my music. I played all the instruments -- bass, guitar, keyboards, party horns, and drums -- and sang all the vocals. It was such a deep thrill for me to do it all. Anyway, a shout out to Glen Reely who engineered it and thanks again to Vince Jones for his remix! It was released under my old aka 'Barbara B' and still receives air play on Super-Soul-Thursdays on 102.7 FM.

The lyrics? Here's what's happening when you see them in print. I am repeating the same sentence, but dropping the last word each time the phrase comes around. Kind of like musical chairs - but with words disappearing instead of places to sit. Every word I remove creates new meaning. Plus, the total shape of the poem ends up being a visual vessel. I love unexpected patterns - it reminds me that they are everywhere - which is reassuring in this chaotic world.

I want to love you like a woman loves a man
I want to love you like a woman loves
I want to love you like a woman
I want to love you like
I want to love you
I want to love
I want to
I want
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I want to love you like a woman loves a man

My love affair with soul music began early in life and by the age of eleven I was laying down solid grooves on my drum kit, writing my own songs on piano and guitar, and recording original music on my oh-so-cool 2-track 'real'-to-reel. I was crazy about making music!

Even though my dad was not really a musician, he enjoyed playing guitar and singing and had the wisdom and insight to bring all kinds of instruments into our home once we started showing interest. Thanks dad.

I was also deeply influenced by my numerous trips to New York City to visit my mom, who moved there when I was really young. Unlike Vancouverites, New Yorkers sung at full volume while walking down the street; they set their drum kits up on the sidewalk; they played their horns out their apartment windows; they got down in the subways. And the visual arts were equally inspiring -- everywhere I went I saw it; stencils on the sidewalk, graff-art on buildings; poems in doorways, hand drawn images on people's clothes. I mean, street-level creativity was simply a part of everyday life there. It blew my mind!

I gained my first public musical recognition when I jumped into the local independent music scene as a teenager playing drums with a host of wild characters. During that time I created music with everyone from strippers to avante garde artists--it was an absolutely zany time.

In my early twenties I helped form a clever, quirky, all-female-band called Bolero Lava That's me on the far left, next to Phaedra Struss, Lorraine Tetrault, Vanessa Richards and Laurel Thackeray on the far right. For more band photos click here. We played original music, which the media could never accurately describe. No, we were not like 'The Bangles" or "Bananarama" other than being all female. And no, we were not a 'punk band' - hardly (!) - although we looked pretty theatrical. We were just a group of inspired young women making our own music at that time. Anyway, our two disks, Much Music video, cross-country tours and memorable live shows with the likes of The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Taj Mahal put us at the forefront of the local scene and estastablished us as national talent. I also continued to travel to New York during that time where I continued to do various projects with friends who were doing cool stuff, too.

After leaving Bolero Lava, I took a long break from making music with others and found myself back where I had been happiest all along--at home--blissfully recording my own songs. I absolutely love writing, playing a range of instruments, and developing layers and layers of vocal harmonies. I now have about 50 songs recorded on an old-school 4-track which Jim Byrnes gave me along with a fender strat, an amp, a mic, a mic stand...What an incredibly gifted musician and supportive friend.

Over the last decade I had the pleasure of playing a few live shows with the extremely talented Chin Injeti (originally from Bass is Bass) at his Thursday-Nite-Dynamite sessions. These were stellar showcase nights that happened once a month with jaw dropping talent in the house like Ridley Bent and Roger Swan. Someone amazing would always show up. One of my favorite shows was when my sister Tania Brief came in from New York and sang with me, my pal Darrell Stables played drums, the lovely Joyita Rubins played bass, and Chin Injeti sung and played guitar.

After that phase, I continued to keep my passion alive and my chops up by recording at home, singing and playing on my own, and making music with Bombyx, the man in my life at that time. He would sing in French and I sang in English. It was hi-fi-bi-lingual! We met in a choir project we were both involved in (go to the Choral Fixation post on this blog for more about that).

I am feeling like it's time to make music again. I just love it so very much. It feels like the part of me that has been around since the beginning of time, my core, my dna, and to not express it negates my whole existence. Yes, it's time to manifest music again!

For inspiration, if you want a funky steamin-streamin audio treat, there is a great web-radio show out of Monreal called 'WE FUNK RADIO' . They play a lot of rare funk 45's. Below is one of my favorite shows from that site. You can hear it anytime - 24/7. Check out this link:
Play WEFUNK Show 394

Here's what you'll hear:

herbie hancock - fat mama
talk (over the loopdigga - ashby road, soul sonata, & mind touch)
marc moulin - aria
gil scott-heron - angola louisiana
harvey mason - marching in the streets
pieces of a dream - mr. airy dream
fatback - you gotta believe
saundra phillips - miss fatback
buster williams - the hump
jeremy steig - mint tea
david frost & billy taylor - bright star in the east
phillip lambro - main theme from murph the surf
david diggs - chew baby chew!
don ellis - superstar
billy martin - egg roll
j.c. - you can't tell the man by the song
red beans & rice - let my people go
rhythm combination & brass - mr. clean
cedar walton - beyond mobius
rolf kuhn group - uncle archibald
joe mcphee - shakey joe
dj spooky - ibid, desmarches, ibid
chicago underground duo - micro exit
hampton hughes - web
stone alliance - sweetie pie
jimmy jones - live and let live
junior mance - don't cha hear me calling to ya
talk (over richard "groove" holmes - down home funk)

That should keep you inspired for a few hours... enjoy!

* Choral Fixation

2009-01-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

Over the past few years I have been singing in choirs to balance my life and keep my heart open and my voice strong.
Who knew that so many sassy, sexy people sung in choirs? That's why I made "choral fixation" buttons for the crew!

One of the choirs was called 'Les Seantistes' fronted by a very Marjoe type man named Mark Oliver. There were 6 female singers, 5 male singers, a sitar player, a bassist, 2 guitarists, a b-3 player, and a trumpet player. The song I loved doing most was 'Jesus Dropped the Charges' by the fabulous O'Neal Twins. There is a great clip on youtube of the boys doing it, just click on the song title above.

On occasion we would also invite Alex Alegria's huge Mariachi band on stage with us. We played lots of great shows including stints at The Media Club, The Arts Club, and the closing gala for the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Another choir I was involved with was run by Eric Dozier and One Human Family Gospel Choir.

This was a true community choir, diverse in age and interests. It was good clean fun for the whole dysfunctional family (such a brat, I know).

Eric is a very gifted player and a great teacher and I highly recommend doing one of his intensive weekend-workshops next time he has one. Although he is back living in the southern states again, he travels around the world doing workshops. Check him out.

Actively in choirs or not, I have been involved in music all my life -- I play a number of instruments and enjoy writing and recording my own music under the name of Honey B. To visit my music page, go to the Honey B Music link back on my home page.

* Drawing From Experience

2009-01-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

I am an art school graduate from The Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design in Vancouver. However, I never drew much when I was there. It was only long after graduating with honors in Photography (odd?) that I went back to the thrill of having a pencil in my hand. The drawings shown here are some of the many whimsical illustrations I have done over the years. You can click on any image to enlarge it.

Although I really do love drawing, I don't do it much right now. There are so many ways I love to express myself, and each mode seems to represent a different aspect of my psyche and a different chapter of my life.

Still, a really love that certain kind of deep silliness that seems to come out when I am home alone with a drawing tool in my hand.

Drawings like these can be like cartoons without captions; a summation of state of mind; an experience; an attempt try to understand the psychology, underlying pattern or outright absurdity of something--via the visual.

Until now, I never had any urge to display these drawings to the public, as drawing is a lot like journaling to me. It's just another way to express my unconscious mind's ongoing inner dialogue; a way to externalize the internal.

However, once I began to understand that there was a secret language going on between me, the pen and the paper, I wanted to know more. Much like lucid dreaming, I began watching myself and asking myself, what is compelling me to draw this? Who are these figures? What are they doing? Where are they going? What are they feeling? What hidden part of me is coming out here? What would happen next in the picture if I kept drawing? What is my art trying to tell me about my current or past experiences?

I discovered the trick was to let my unconscious speak freely, meaning, I just let myself draw spontaneously and then I would ask myself questions later. It's really important to ask the questions. If you don't, you are only half way there. Keep going! Also, it's important to just draw whatever wants to come forth without shame or judgement... just enjoy being human!

Funnily enough, many artists have no idea what is compelling them to create what they are creating on an emotional level, which is fine, we often don't know (!) but that doesn't mean we shouldn't ask. When asked, many artists can come up with academic, intellectual, historical or cultural contexts to justify the images they are producing, but they often miss the core reason their souls are trying to get their attention. They miss out completely on the more personal and intimate conversations their work is begging them to have.

However, when we allow ourselves to make art just for our own expression (like journaling) and then reflect on that, it encourages us to face our feelings and take responsibility for our perspective, and this is what ultimately makes us grow as human beings. The best part is that our art will naturally take us there (if we let it) all we have to do is follow.

This whole process is what ultimately propelled me to study Art Therapy, complete my degree, and become a therapist. Although I was a "Registered Art Therapist" for many years, I dropped the title, expanded the parameters, and developed my own unique practice as The Mobile Muse - see my main post at the beginning of this blog for more info!

To see a few more of my drawings please visit Clean Sheets Magazine

* Buddha Babes

2007-08-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

The sculpture you see here is the original hand-painted clay figure I made for a series called "Buddha-Babes." She embodies the sassy-sacred nature I have come to know so profoundly through working as a therapist with high-risk, adolescent girls. She's a true-Vancouverite: an East-meets-West, urbanized, teenaged Kuan Yin who tests us with her naive-bravado yet inspires us with her staggering compassion and depth.

After creating her I found myself entranced by her image; she immediately became my own meditation-piece. I hired a professional caster to make a mold from the original (thanks Rod!) and then I cast her over and over and over. It was fun to arrange the B-Babes in different positions on my studio table; facing each other; facing away from each other; in a circle; in rows. They looked like a concrete-but-nubile army ready to be deployed on a mission. And off they went.

So now there are many little Buddha-Babes all around Vancouver, on the islands, down the coast, and across the continent. I like that. I like to imagine her sitting in someone's garden or looking down from a highrise balcony working her quiet magic. I want to anchor one onto a big rock down at beach here in Vancouver so that she can collect barnacles throughout the year. In fact, it would be great to place her in magical stumbled-upon locations all over the world...

Concrete Ideas

Concrete Ideas are just that: Ideas which have been solidified into actual concrete. You can't imagine how heavy my studio-garbage became during the experimental phase of my cement-craze!

The pieces posted here are candle holders from a series I made by pouring cement into retro-style cake-molds then 'icing' them with exotic bits of stones, metals, gems and jewels from my last incarnation as a jeweler. Most of this series was sold privately and through the Museum Shop at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Another creative spin off which developed from experimenting with concrete was the exploration of furniture and tile setting. Thanks to my father's happy and handy cooperation (thanks daddy-o!) we re-made several coffee tables using the same basic design ideas that came from my candle holders.

Using his carpentry expertise combined with my design skills, we turned several old tables into beautiful new ones. The tables were sanded down and then covered with broken tiles, pieces of my old jewelry and other fun little treasures I found hunting in thrift stores.

Above are two images showing one of our tables in my living room, as well as a zoom-image of a detail from that same table.

If you have an old table you would like 're-played,' I can give you pointers on how to do it. It's a lot of work, but it's a fantastic way to consciously and creatively re-cycle things. If you would like more hints and tips from the super-stars of the craft-world, check out the Super Naturale craft site. It's amazing and fantastic!

To return to the main menu and see other art work and creative links, click on 'Home' below.

* Fantastic-Tocs (Timeless Clocks)

2007-08-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Above is a kinetic sculpture I created using the mechanics of an old clock I found in a thrift store. I call it a "Mystic-toc". These four images (above) are of the same sculpture as it changes over a time period of one minute.

I continue to make art that reflects my fascination with urban recycling and fuses it to the cosmic concept of reinvention; the eternal reinvention of everything; the reminder that nothing is new and everything will eventually become something else.

With this said, these kinetic sculptures above encourage the mind to let go of time and move into the realm of constant-change. This particular piece focuses on a buddha going around and around... it's really interesting to watch the progression from tension to relief as he makes his journey from upright to upside down, from stability to instability, over and over again. It is reassuring. Whenever I need a reminder of this basic law of the universe I turn to my recycled clocks for guidance.

Below are a few samples of my other tic-tocs, which I call "romantic-tocs", "poetic-tocs", and "erotic-tocs", as well as the last one, "fantastic-toc" - which shows Wonder Woman endlessly trapped in a Fireworks Factory in India (!) Although you can't see them here in these 2-d images below - the center image of each piece moves around and around.

It takes a certain type of awareness to recognize the ongoing potential in an object and then transform into something else. This will become an essential skill as our planet gets more and more bogged down with our garbage. I would like to get more involved in recycling - or "replaying" as I prefer to call it - on a larger level. There is so much stuff already out there just aching to be re-invented.

This is why I absolutley love thrift stores (and I mean real thrift stores - not 'consignment' shops). Thrift stores are the seashores of our consumerist ocean - the place where anything can wash up. Time or trend has no rule - numerous decades and deisgns exist simultaneously in a good thrift store - waiting to be introduced to each other and re-played with as if time were non-linear. I like that.

* Cosmetic Brain Surgery

2007-08-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

What you are about to read is from a book I have been working on for a number of years. The underpinnings of this work stems from my Master's Thesis, which was called "Body Of Evidence; Using Art Therapy To Uncover The Underlying Issues of Anorexia and Bulimia." After writing my thesis, establishing a private practice as a creative therapist, and turning my attention back to the mainstream world, I realized that people everywhere (not just those afflicted with eating disorders) were having trouble accessing their creativity and living happily ever after in their bodies. Therefore, I decided to write 'Cosmetic Brain Surgery' as an upbeat remedy to the current body-altering epidemic that is happening everywhere. Think of it as the Artist's Way meets Bust Magazine. Although I have written it from a woman's perspective, men can easily relate to it as well. If you are looking for a new perspective, read on...

Welcome to Cosmetic Brain Surgery. Unlike the risky and invasive approach to self-image issues, this 'operation' requires no elaborate equipment, expensive clinics, or nasty scalpels. It inflicts no pain or scarring, and it leaves no lingering feelings of phoniness or sharp pangs of regret. You will wake up from this operation feeling vibrant, authentic, and rejuvenated, because all that Cosmetic Brain Surgery requires is a little imagination.

How does it work? During this operation you will be encouraged to creatively re-think many aspects of your existence, for example, your identity, your habits, your friendships, your intimate relationships, your culture, your personal history, your dreams, and your aspirations (to name a few). Why? Because it is in these deeper layers of who you are and not in your flesh layer that the re-shaping must take place if you truly want to be at peace with yourself.

By carefully opening and gently probing into these areas of your life, you will discover all the little hidden thoughts, feelings, and experiences that have been eroding your self-esteem and turning your self-image into an ugly stranger. You will also discover all the secret, gifted parts of yourself that have been aching to be exposed, expressed, and celebrated. By combining self-discovery with potent doses of creative thinking, you will finally possess the only tools you have ever really needed to re-design yourself into the person you have always wanted to be.

You will also find that as your self-compassion grows, your empathy for others will also increase, and your whole relationship to the world is likely to shift. Why? Because when you explore your own life in a deep and creative way, you automatically enter into the collective consciousness of everyone around you. By knowing yourself and spending time with yourself in this progressive way, you will become more synchronized with others. Your intuition will deepen, your creativity will blossom, your courage will grow, serendipity will increase, and unusual and auspicious encounters will abound. In other words, a whole new world of possibilities will be granted to you, all you have to do is let it happen.

But, before all these wonderful transformations can happen, you need to deeply embrace one key principle. Much like a Zen master, you will have to realize that the way you see yourself is a deeper reflection of the way you see everything else. Let's use the principles of quantum physics to shed some light on this issue. Relax, it's easy to understand, and besides, you are brilliant, remember? Let me explain.

At the quantum level the true substance of the universe seems to be made of either pure, physical matter, more commonly known as objects; or made of flowing, interrelated actions,generally described as events. Depending on your perspective of the universe (the tools and methods you use to view it) it will appear to be made of one or the other, either objects or events. With this theory in mind, I invite you to apply this apt metaphor to the way you perceive yourself.

If you want to be an 'object,' you can continue to see yourself as a finite product in a material world. You can continue to see yourself as an isolated and faulty object that needs fixing in order to belong, rather than seeing yourself as a remarkable event participating within millions of other miraculous events within the universe.

If you want to be an 'event,' you can begin by seeing yourself as a dynamic, shifting series of actions, rather than seeing yourself as a static form. For example, most authentically-creative people are events, and their sense of self is derived from their connection to the wonder and flow of a greater creative energy in the world. Truly creative people are not objects, nor do they want to be. They are active producers and their inspiration comes from tapping into and emulating a greater creative force--not from imitating static perfection. Although they create beautiful or evocative objects, most realize that their creativity is a continual process--not a final product. They understand that life itself is a massively divine event, and they are a simply echoing this process in a micro-dimensional way.

Events come and go. They have high points and low points. They inspire us, persuade us, and move us into new territory. Events are sublime specifically because of their impermanence. They represent transformation, risk, and revolution. Objects, on the other hand, must be locked away or forever guarded to stay the same. While they may look precious and perfect behind a hard, glass case, they remain untouchable, cold, and dead.

With this said, these ideas are designed to help you become less of an object and more of an event in all areas of your life. By reading and engaging in the creative exercises, you will be shining a brilliant light into all the hidden areas of your life. There you will discover someone that has been waiting for your attention all along, a much deeper self, full of curiosity, courage, and originality beyond your wildest dreams. I welcome you to find yourself now..."

Barbara Bernath
All Rights Reserved

Want more?! Head over to the Cosmetic Brain Surgery blog:
Cosmetic Brain Surgery - A Blog Designed To Change Your Mind, Not Your Body!

To read another excerpt from my book as well as interesting articles written by, for, and about creative people, you can also visit Doug Eby's well known Talent Development site.

* At Home

2007-08-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

At home...

For years I tried to keep all my various 'selves' and pursuits separate, but since making this site, I have come to see my life in a more gestalt-like way. I feel whole. I am all these people, all these abilities, and all these ways of being.

It's a gift to love drawing, designing, painting, sculpting, and creating visual works. It's a blessing to be able to play the drums, the keyboards, the guitar, and to be graced with the urge to sing and song-write (and it's a thrill being on stage)! It's intellectually rewarding to have many years of education and to have earned degrees. It's stimulating writing articles and working on my book. It's soul-stirring to work so deeply with people of all ages as a therapist and life-coach.

As much as I've tried, I cannot cut any of these artistic-expressions from my life - nor do I want to. It's who I am, and therefore sharing it with others is what I must do. Hence the site.Yet the boundaries of identity in modern life are blurring for everyone. Who are we really? What do we really 'do'. What do we want others to know (and not know) about our lives? What are we compelled to bare and hide? Are we 'too much' or 'not enough.' I am all for expression. But meaningful expression has to be done from a place of honesty and vulnerabitlity, not from an exhibitionist stance. It's about sharing our 'real' selves so that others may find comfort and liberation in doing the same.

With this said, at the top is an image of me 'at home' -- at home with myself; at home in my new space; at home with my talents and complexities, and at home with my age, my experience, and my place in the world. I hope you find inspiration here.

To go back to the full menu, click on 'Home' below. Then click on the postings under "MORE."